Financial Transparency Coalition

On September 9th the Cayman Islands introduced a bill for the establishment of new Special Economic Zones. The most Alice-in-Wonderland part of the bill is this bit, on page 14:

"A special economic zone shall be deemed to be outside of the Islands and not in the Islands."

Emphasis added. So where will this zone be? It seems that it will, for the relevant purposes, effectively be 'elsewhere' - which, in practical terms, means 'nowhere.' This 'it's elsewhere, don't-blame-us, we-can't-regulate-this' approach is what a lot of the activity of secrecy jurisdictions is designed to do - it's not so common,...

George Osborne says that 'those who evade taxes, like benefit cheats, are leeches on society'. However, he has agreed a deal that rewards those who avoid paying taxes in the UK by hiding their money in Switzerland. George Osborne says: 'my message to those who try to hide their incomes from the Revenue in offshore bank accounts and false declarations is simple: we will find you and your money.' A senior official at the Indian Central Board of Direct Taxes says: 'money laundering or illegal commission are a criminal offence. So, our effort will be to not...

U.S. Senate Passes Patent Reform Bill Banning Tax Strategy Patents Accounting Today, September 8, 2011 UK Government abandons tax treaty anti-avoidance measures Tax Journal, September 9, 2011 Greece Names 6,000 Businesses For Tax Evasion Dow Jones, September 9, 2011 Does a company's responsibility to society start with paying its taxes? The Guardian, September 9, 2011 Switzerland resists US tax data call Reuters, September 7, 2011

On September 7th, 1822 Prince Pedro, the Portuguese Prince of Brazil who represented the monarchy in the Brazilian colony, received a letter. It was from the Princess Maria Leopoldina, his wife, and it advised him to give the county its independence after nearly two years of rebellion. Prince Pedro heeded his wife’s advice . Later that day, standing on the shores of theIpirangaRiver in Sao Paolo, Pedro declared Brazil’s independence, ending 322 years of colonial rule. According to legend (and artistic recreations of the event) a very refined looking Pedro, dressed in a military suit, brandishing a...